Chapter 1966: Lingyun Sword Pavilion Has Arrived

While others were unaware of Zhang Xuan's true identity, Cao Chengli had personally witnessed Shan Xiaotian addressing him as "Teacher."

To transform a crippled Saint 6-dan, who had been unable to cultivate, into a peak Ancient Sage 1-dan in less than a day—it was so unbelievable that even witnessing it felt like a dream.

Following someone like him would undoubtedly lead to soaring success!

Furthermore, with nearly all his subordinates dead and a large crowd surrounding him, he knew that if he tried to leave, the enraged populace would likely beat him to death on the spot.

As a bandit king for years, he had committed countless atrocities, and innumerable people yearned for his demise.

"My servant?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "Spare me. Just stick to your promising career as a bandit!"

He had only spared Cao Chengli to expose Xue Chen's conspiracy. Now that the matter was resolved, Zhang Xuan saw no reason to care if a villainous bandit lived or died.

"If Master won't accept me... I'd rather kneel here until I die," Cao Chengli insisted, gritting his teeth.

"Then keep kneeling," Zhang Xuan said, waving him off.

"Master..." Surprised by Zhang Xuan's resolute stance, Cao Chengli's face filled with sorrow. "Actually, I have my reasons. I was once a kind businessman. One time, after getting drunk, my wife wouldn't let me into the house, so I fell asleep in a carriage outside. I woke up freezing in the middle of the night and had no choice but to go to a brothel. As it happened, I engaged seven women at once—that feeling was truly amazing. Afterward..."

"Enough, no more sob stories," Shan Xiaotian said, raising an eyebrow. "Teacher is virtuous and upright. You've committed countless evil deeds over the years; taking you as a servant would only harm his reputation. Get out! Or do you want me to kill you right now?"

What kind of person was his Teacher? Like a celestial dragon! If he were to truly accept a bandit like Cao Chengli as a servant, wouldn't his reputation be irrevocably tarnished? And besides, was this really a sob story, or did it sound more like boasting?

Seeing that Shan Xiaotian was about to act, Cao Chengli's face paled. Knowing there was no chance of becoming a servant now, he extended his palm. "If Master doesn't accept me, these people will surely beat me to death. Since death is inevitable, let me say that as a bandit, I mostly robbed wealthy households, and my gains have been considerable. This storage ring contains ten Immortal Essence Pills, my accumulated wealth over the years... I am willing to offer them to Master..."

"Don't try to bribe Teacher with these things; he won't be swayed by them..." Shan Xiaotian frowned, seeing the bandit fail with his sob story and then resort to bribery. He was about to drive him away when he saw his usually pale Teacher suddenly break free from his support, straighten up, and with lightning speed, snatch the storage ring from Cao Chengli's hand.

After erasing the soul imprint and glancing inside, Zhang Xuan nodded almost imperceptibly, a look of satisfaction spreading across his face.

"Alright, from today, you are my servant. Come along!" Zhang Xuan thought, "One Immortal Essence Pill is 100,000 Transcendent Coins, so ten are a million, plus the storage ring... This bandit certainly amassed a substantial fortune." For such a sum, taking him as a mere servant was insignificant.

"Teacher..." Shan Xiaotian was utterly bewildered. "Is this truly my Teacher?" he wondered. "How can someone who can effortlessly advance others by two major cultivation realms, and who possesses such profound swordsmanship and medical skills... a person of such apparent integrity... be bought off with a few pills?" He questioned, "Where is the bottom line? Where is the dignity of a master?"

There was little to pack at the clan, so it wasn't long before Shan Xiaotian returned to the City Lord's manor with Elder Yi and the others.

The horse and carriage desperately tried to follow but were ultimately refused and released into the wilderness.

The journey to Lingyun Sword Pavilion would involve flying on a sacred beast, making a carriage highly inconvenient.

As for Xue Qin, her status as a menial disciple was naturally revoked. With her father dead, she had committed no significant evils herself, thus escaping calamity. However, without the protection of the City Lord's manor, her days would likely be challenging.

Under these circumstances, Shan Xiaotian did not pursue the matter further. Although there was no affection between them, they had once been betrothed, and completely eradicating her would bring him no benefit.

"Let's go!" With preparations complete, the colossal flying sacred beast flapped its wings, carrying Zhang Xuan and the others away from Xuanjiang City, soaring towards the Lingyun Sword Pavilion.

"The Lingyun Sword Pavilion is approximately a ten-day flight from here!" Inside the sealed room on the beast's back, Shan Xiaotian sat before his Teacher. As a native of the Firmament, he knew a considerable amount about the mysterious Lingyun Sword Pavilion.

The flying sacred beast beneath them had already reached the Ancient Sage 4-dan Shattered Void realm. Such a powerful sacred beast could easily cover hundreds of thousands of kilometers in a single day, yet the journey still required ten days of flight, indicating the immense distance to Lingyun Sword Pavilion.

It appeared that this so-called 'world abandoned by gods' was comparable in size to, if not larger than, the Master Teacher Continent.

During the flight, Zhang Xuan consumed two of the Immortal Essence Pills given by Cao Chengli. His cultivation was fully restored and had even subtly reached the peak of the early Shattered Void realm, on the verge of a breakthrough. He forcefully suppressed it, however, due to the lack of suitable cultivation techniques.

After several days of observation, he also discovered that the time flow in the Firmament was indeed different from that of the Master Teacher Continent, at an approximate ratio of one to ten. This meant that one day in the Firmament equated to ten days on the Master Teacher Continent.

Tens of thousands of years on the Master Teacher Continent equated to only a few thousand years in the Firmament, a timeframe that precisely corresponded with Master Kong's establishment of the Transcendent Hall.

The differing time flow, combined with the dense mercury spiritual energy, also limited the lifespan of cultivators.

Saint realm experts on the Master Teacher Continent could live for a millennium, but here, their limit was a mere one hundred years. Ancient Sage experts, who could live for around two millennia elsewhere, found their lifespan capped at two hundred years here. Even True Immortals like Elder Lu Yun had a lifespan of only three hundred years.

During these days, aside from his own cultivation, Zhang Xuan focused on guiding Shan Xiaotian and Cao Chengli. As for Elder Yi, he was elderly and had been severely depleted, requiring prolonged recuperation, making him unsuitable for cultivation at this time.

Ten days passed in a flash.

Just as the sun ascended above the horizon that day, a colossal mountain gate appeared before them.

Standing tens of thousands of meters high and several thousands of meters wide, it pierced through the clouds like a giant Heavenly Gate.

In the center of the massive gate, an enormous longsword, crafted from brick and stone, pierced through its entirety.

Even before they reached it, they could feel the whistling sword qi, subtly threatening to tear apart space and creating a sense of immense spiritual pressure that made movement difficult.

"So powerful..." Zhang Xuan muttered, somewhat awestruck.

As expected of one of the Firmament's Six Great Sects. The Master Teacher Continent could never construct such a gate and longsword, let alone contain the immense sword intent they embodied.

This sword intent was immeasurably more powerful than the True Sword Art he cultivated. It was foreseeable that if he encountered a master wielding such swordsmanship, he would be effortlessly defeated. It was terrifying!

His Eye of Insight pulsed as he gazed at the longsword before him, as if seeing a virtual sword hidden within—the very embodiment of the sword intent.

The artistic conception created by this longsword was somewhat similar to the Heaven's Path Sword Art he cultivated, yet it was more profound, exuding a sense of transcendence.

As he observed and absorbed, Zhang Xuan immediately felt his comprehension of the Sword Dao deepen, becoming even more formidable.

While he couldn't fully comprehend it with just a glance, the essence contained within was in the same lineage as the Heaven's Path Sword Art. Given enough time, he could completely integrate it, leading to a qualitative leap in his swordsmanship.

"This is the Lingyun Sword Pavilion!" Elder Lu Yun said, approaching the colossal gate and longsword with eyes full of reverence and respect. "This sword was left by our founding patriarch and contains his profound understanding of the Sword Dao and his sword intent. Countless generations since have been astounded by it!" Shan Xiaotian, too, stood rigidly, his eyes reddened. When he first began practicing the sword, he had always dreamed of coming here, and today, that dream was finally realized.

"Before we enter the sect, let me explain some of our rules!" Elder Lu Yun announced, seeing that it would still take some time for the sacred beast to fly through the mountain gate.

"The Lingyun Sword Pavilion divides its disciples into four categories: menial, outer, inner, and core!" Elder Lu Yun explained. "While inner disciples are considered very strong, the core disciples are the most brilliant and prominent figures within the entire Sword Pavilion!"

"Core disciples?" Shan Xiaotian's eyes gleamed, and his fists clenched.

"Once Sword Pavilion disciples pass their assessments, there's little else expected of them. They typically practice swordsmanship and cultivate in their own residences. If they wish to study, they can borrow from the Library Pavilion or seek guidance from senior disciples and elders. Of course," Elder Lu Yun added, "all of these services require Sword Pavilion coins!"

"Sword Pavilion coins?"

"They are a virtual currency issued by the Sword Pavilion, circulating exclusively within its confines," Elder Lu Yun continued. "You can purchase anything you desire within the sect: pills, weapons, cultivation techniques, even lectures from elders—everything imaginable! However, earning them is quite difficult. You can participate in open competitions, complete tasks, help others solve problems, or guide their cultivation. In essence, everything here requires Sword Pavilion coins. Without them, you can't take a single step. But with sufficient funds, cultivation resources will be inexhaustible, and your cultivation speed will surpass others."

Shan Xiaotian was astonished. He had always believed that a major power like the Lingyun Sword Pavilion would be solely focused on cultivation, never imagining they would be so driven by wealth.

"We can participate in open competitions... Elder, does that mean the Lingyun Sword Pavilion also has a Transcendent Hall?" Open competitions were typically virtual battles within the Transcendent Hall. Could it be that one of the Six Great Sects, the Lingyun Sword Pavilion, possessed such a facility?

"The Lingyun Sword Pavilion, naturally, does not have its own Transcendent Hall," Elder Lu Yun confirmed with a nod. "However, we do possess Transcendent Jade Tokens, which allow disciples to battle, trade, and conduct all manner of activities within a system similar to the external Transcendent Hall. The key difference is that these tokens are controlled by the Sword Pavilion and cannot connect with the outside world."

Zhang Xuan instantly understood. It was essentially a much larger local area network. Disciples within could cultivate, battle, and even buy and sell medicinal herbs, but they operated independently, not managed by or connected to the main Transcendent Hall.

"Furthermore, there's a significant difference in strength," Elder Lu Yun continued. "The Transcendent Jade Tokens here are only accessible to inner disciples and above. Therefore, when your consciousness enters, your base strength is no longer Saint 1-dan, but Ancient Sage 1-dan!"

Unlike Starlight City's Transcendent Jade Tokens, where everyone's cultivation level was capped at Saint 1-dan upon entry regardless of their true power, here, all entrants, no matter how strong, were set to Ancient Sage 1-dan. If it remained at Saint 1-dan, many exquisite swordsmanship techniques couldn't be fully demonstrated, rendering the open competitions pointless.

"Of course, just like in other Transcendent Halls, you can remain anonymous here, so others won't know your identity," Elder Lu Yun solemnly stated. "However, if others don't know who you are, you also won't know who they are. It's entirely possible that the person you're chatting with could be an elder, or even... the sect leader! Therefore, you must never be presumptuous here. While elders and the sect leader might not hold grudges, offending them will undoubtedly lead to significant trouble!"

"Elders? The sect leader?" Far from being nervous, Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up at the explanation. His mind immediately filled with an exciting thought: "Would beating up people like that be even more satisfying than beating up ordinary folks?"